admin Complacency has got no place in Higher Education. Competency-based learning is offered by the universities to Improve Skills Gap. Cultural, demographic, and economic forces are changing the world around and on campuses, challenging long-held beliefs and upending traditions. Focusing specifically on what students will need to be effective members of the workforce, the universities worldwide are adopting competency-based learning curricula. These demand-driven programs are a form of personalized learning that builds concrete skills, augmenting current curricula that focus on abstract academic concepts. However, this proliferation has also raised concerns about an imbalance between excellence and inclusion.
All universities and colleges have always dealt with challenges and issues particular to a time and place all over the world. Now-familiar student unrest movements of the 1960s were largely played out on university campuses. As we are in the middle of 2019, higher education will face a particular set of challenges and issues. Universities compete among themselves to rank higher as this begets them greater autonomy from regulation, and also more money. Rankings increase the quality of education. Universities have to give equal priority to teaching, research and practice. This entails balancing faculty members’ time between teaching, research and institute-building based on their individual capabilities.
One of the primary issues facing higher education across the globe is the rising cost of education balanced against the benefit of a college degree. The cost is often the first and most important factor people face in weighing the value of universities, as valuable as a college education is to them, be it a national or international university. Forbes that the rising cost is amplified by a diminishing field of well-paying job opportunities. The outcome of this is that many recent graduates are underemployed and face massive student loan debt.
Though success in the workforce usually requires a college education, the ability to pay for college fee has become difficult for many middle class and low-income groups. During the recession years, the cost of education actually rose at a higher percentage than today, where it is just over 1.5%. However, the net cost—the cost balanced against grant aid and tax benefits—is actually costing people more than during the 2008-09 recession years. One thing is certain: if the cost of higher education continues to outpace the ability of middle and working class families to pay, the problem will snowball into other areas of higher education. Of course, colleges are very well aware of this issue and doing everything in their power to provide creative financial solutions for strapped students. For example, many colleges are offering online classes so that students don’t have to pay for on-campus housing, a meal plan, etc. The goal is find ways to give students an outstanding, cost-effective education.
The strict divide between public and private has been blurred and new relationships between the private sector and public sector have unfolded in response to global changes. These shifts and changes are reflected in some of the issues and challenges facing higher education. Additionally, the cultural and political climate is being challenged at some fundamental levels, and with this comes disagreement and conflict. These issues, disagreements and conflicts also present challenges to higher education for the coming year. Of course, universities have always faced a variety of challenges and have always managed to find solutions. We should expect that to be the case with these challenges. Through all of these issues, it is evident that the Higher Education departments have a great and important role to play in maintaining the quality of education, at both the primary and higher levels. Additionally, a university’s leadership is quite important for a society to reach its goals and improve itself, to promote humanity, science and reasoning. So the great leadership roles should also step up to frame the rules for recruitment and appointment of vice-chancellors/Directors etc., in public universities and ensure their statuses is upheld. Thankfully, we live in a world today, where learning matters. We can be confident that universities will be present to both educate us and enlarge our minds. On top of this, it’s essential to remember that education is critical being it any nation, rich or poor, developed, developing or underdeveloped. Those who miss out on higher learning often find their opportunities limited. Even though many universities are confronting challenges, we shouldn’t expect to see a decline in higher education.
About the author: Dr. Neha Jain
Educational Qualifications: MA, M.Phil., MBA(HR),
PG-Diploma in Journalism & Mass Communication, Ph.D.
Dr. Neha Jain is rendering her services as Professor & Head Dept. of English at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore- a highly reputed and prestigious Autonomous Engineering College with 18thranking in India. She has done her Post graduation & awarded with her Doctoral Degree in English Literature from Barkatullah University, (Formerly known as Bhopal University) M.P, & is awarded with her M.Phil. from Sri Venkateshwara, University, Tirupati (AP).She has also earned a degree in PG Diploma in Mass Communication and Journalism, and MBA with HR specializationfrom Karnataka State Open University, Mysore, because of her inclination towards inter disciplinary subjects. She has a rich experience of teaching for more than 17 years in various parts of the country, including Jammu &Kashmir. She also holds a certificate on” Productivity Enhancement”, from National Open Colleges Network, United Kingdom in collaboration with World Confederation of Productivity Science, Institute of Productivity, United Kingdom .She was also the Vice-Principal of SFGC.
She has published around 40 papers with ISBN nos. in International & National Conferences, published many papers in reputed journals approved by UGC with ISSN nos., and also attended several International & National conferences, Seminars and Workshops. She has authored 5 books to her credit. She has shared her rich experience with academicians/teachers by conducting several workshops & FDPs on Soft Skills. Research Methodologies, Value-based leadership on Marketing Strategies, HRM, etc.
Latest Achievement: The Book titled, ’CISF – The Force of the Future’ was released by the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji- was edited by her, which was released on 10th March, 2019 in DELHI with ISBN: No: 978-81-7506-037-1
Recently, She has been nominated as the Expert Member on the Selection Committee for Faculty Promotion and Appointment – CAS by the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.
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